Uni graduates in the red - by $13 billion

University student debt will soar to more than $13 billion by the first full year of the Federal Government's new higher education fees regime, figures obtained by the Herald reveal.

The Department of Education has drastically revised its assessment, saying that by 2005-06 the debt will be nearly $12 billion, more than $460 million higher than estimated four months ago.

By 2006-07, the first full year of the changes, university students will owe the Government an estimated $13.2 billion, up nearly $9 billion in a decade and $1.2 billion on the previous year.

The federal Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, at the weekend challenged earlier revelations by the Herald that documents he took to cabinet to back the changes showed they would substantially shift the long-term cost of tuition from government to students.

Dr Nelson denied that the move to increase student loans and allow higher fees was a savings measure, saying the Commonwealth put $6.9 billion into universities over 10 years.");document.write("

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But the Government's latest figures show that student debt is expected to expand rapidly as the changes kick in.

Dr Nelson's report on higher education three-year funding, published on the department's website in the week before Christmas 2002, showed anticipated student debt in 2005-06 at $11.52 billion.

However, on Friday the department issued revised figures showing estimated debt at $11.98 billion for the same year.

Students in NSW already owe more than $2.6 billion in Higher Education Contribution Scheme debt, with the average now nearly $8000, government figures reveal.

Nationally, students will pay between $3680 and $6136 this year in HECS repayments.

Figures on the distribution of HECS debts for the Government's year-long review of higher education show that 102,950 students and graduates owed at least $16,000.

More than 1.1 million Australians had a HECS debt in June last year, Government figures say. More than 35,000 owed $20,000 to $30,000, and more than 2000 owed $30,000 to $40,000.

The Democrats' higher education spokeswoman, Natasha Stott Despoja, said yesterday that the party would support the Opposition's push for a Senate inquiry into the fees.

"The Democrats will not support the regressive measures in the Our Universities package," Senator Stott Despoja said.

"We will staunchly oppose the elements of fee deregulation, including allowing universities to set charges up to 30 per cent higher than the HECS rate, raising the cap on full-fee paying students to 50 per cent in a course, and introducing interest bearing loans."